Mika: "The Dodgy Holiday" Tour 2008 at The Warfield, 2.12.08

The MIKA concert was fantastic! It was held at the Warfield in San Francisco on February 12 and the opener was the band The Midway State. Some reactions: it was full of color, and at times, was a bit of a sensory overload. I am amazed at how high Mika's voice gets. In short, he's soo gay! Haha, I do mean it in an endearing sort of way. His dancing, his schizophrenic movements, the backdrops, the band, everything about it was over the top craziness. His performances were flamboyant, unabashed, and completely liberating.

My concert bud Vida (it was her first concert ever!) and I got spots in on floor and were literally two rows away from the stage -- very close to everything. As the night progressed, we became more squished, especially during the more upbeat numbers in which an orgy of fans jumped up and down with their glow sticks, cell phones, and cameras in hand. The show began at 8:00 with The Midway State playing a few songs from their previous and current EP, including "A Million Fireflies" and "Change For You". Unfortunately they did not play one of my favorites, "Unaware". On the downside also, I didn't get any clear shots of lead singer Nathan Ferraro. I am hoping to get photos from Vida's camera soon, but I did capture two videos for "A Million Fireflies" and "Change For You":

At a little after 9:00, Mika took the stage and his set lasted for about an hour and a half, playing thirteen songs from his CD Life in Cartoon Motion and debuting new songs. He first sang "Relax, Take It Easy", followed up "Big Girls You Are Beautiful", "Billy Brown", "Any Other World", a couple of new songs, "My Interpretation", "Ring Ring", and "Happy Ending".

After a brief prelude including a cascading shower of white confetti descended upon Mika using an umbrella onstage, Mika broke out with "Love Today", followed by an amusing drum-off between a shirtless Mika and his female drummer. He changed outfits yet again and played his hit song "Grace Kelly".

For the encore, a Vaudeville theater-type of backdrop took centerstage, where four furry animals did a scene called "Bad Bunny" where the bunny ended up banging the chipmunk doggy-style! LOL! Mildly inappropriate for the kiddies in the audience ;) After removing the backdrop, it was clear that the four furry animals were Mika and his band in animal costumes.

Mika starts to sing "Lollipop" in his bunny outfit (sans head) while big colorful balls fall onto the audience. These bouncy balls went every which way in The Warfield while the rest of Mika's circus of characters danced while confetti was strewn all over the place! It was crazy ridiculous.

It was a fun show -- there were some performances that called for more somber moods ("Happy Ending", "My Interpretation", and "Any Other World") -- but overall, it didn't take it's self too seriously. I also enjoyed the fact that his supporting band was incorporated into the show, with their colorful costumes, their personalities and musical skills were well-showcased throughout the night. As for Mika, his falsetto is a very unique instrument. He acknowledged his love and appreciation to the US fans for supporting him despite the lack of airplay on radio here. The 2008 North American leg of his "Dodgy Holiday" tour was really fun and enjoyed the experience! So based on his showmanship, it looks like Mika has a long career ahead!